Despite str🎃uggling with changing track conditions throughout qualifying, Craig Lowndes will start the latest round of the V🐓8 Supercar Championship from the second row of the grid after qualifying fourth at Oran Park.

Engineer Campbell Little and ꧒Lowndes both battled to optimise the handling of the #🐈888 Falcon throughout qualifying with Lowndes eventually setting the sixth quickest time.

Having earned a place in the Top Ten Shootout, Lowndes t🍌hen picked up two more places with a best time of 1min 08.6532secs.

"We struggled a bit through qualifying as the track conditions changed a lot from the morning's practice session," he said. "We made a lot of changes to tyre pressures and tyre comb♋ination and I was quite happy with the car by the time it came to the shootout.

"I got a reasonably clean lap in the shootout but didn't run the kerb enough in turn eight which cost me a bit of time. The car was good as a race car which gives us confidence 𒈔for tomorrow. It is going to be imperative to get a good start tomorrow with the long drag from the start line to turn one."

However team-mate Steve Ellery was unable to take part in qualifying and will also miss both races after he crashed into the wall at turn nine durin🍰g practice, damaging the #88 Falcon enough to put it out of acti💯on for the rest of the weekend.

"Everything was going so well this morning," he admitted. "The car felt good, we were sitting in fifth position, I had🐭 just made two excellent sector times and it was looking like being my best lap.

"It was driver error I made an honest mistake and got the brake and throttle at the same time. My injuries are o൲k, they will heal, what hurts is seeing the car going into the truck."